I get that the beta came out a few weeks ago now and it may have been a rocky start, but I’m lost on all the hate Fallout 76 is getting. Unlike many others I dove in on launch day and I’m really loving the game! Okay, picture this. It’s like every other Bethesda game but the main quest (yes there is one) is largely ignorable and you can go anywhere and just have fun! Or isn’t that like every other Bethesda game?

I’m not sure where all of the harsh feedback about Fallout 76 is coming from. People are calling it boring and ugly. There’s pratically an entire state of locations to sift through. To me it doesn’t feel any less like Fallout just because I don’t have a bunch of people to talk to. Instead, the people I do have to talk to are real people! With proximity chat you can actually talk with those people you’re walking past instead of trying to emote like crazy.

You’re wandering around a vast new area with actual new content. I think one of the best experiences for that was me talking to my friend about the game while playing. I was assuring him that there was nothing to be afraid of in picking up the game. At that moment, I stumbled across a new creature and yelled out, “What the hell is that?!” He couldn’t stop laughing for minutes. That’s what Fallout 76 is. Oh sure, you know what to expect. But then there’s some new surprise out of nowhere.

Even multiplayer doesn’t feel bad. After all, you’re playing with people who like Bethesda games. Most early players give each other a wary glance and run off in opposite directions. When you start getting into more populated areas it’s like being in a social area of any game. Take Destiny for example and the Tower. It feels more like that. Everyone is busy doing their own thing. Want to team up? Go for it.

Let alone, it doesn’t feel like Elder Scrolls Online either. I’ve had fun in ESO, but it drives me crazy when I go into a dungeon and it’s like entering a mall. I haven’t had any times in Fallout 76 where I feel overwhelmed by how many players are around me. It’s not like in ESO when you can see an entire fast respawning dungeon getting mowed through by everyone else. Instead you get that errie sense that someone was there shortly before you. If anything, it’s incredibly accurate to what life would be like after everyone left Vault 76.

Yes, there are survival elements in the sense of food and water. This isn’t done outside of the main construct of Fallout though. You have food. Food and drink gives you rads. Don’t like that? Spend your early points to get the Lead Belly perk and get rid of the rads cost of eating and drinking. If anything it makes it feel like you’re living in the world. Keep an eye on those meters and just keep fed and hydrated. No biggy.

When I found out today that containers actually respawn loot eventually, the game became a complete joy to me. Not only can I explore to my hearts content, I can go through previous areas I enjoy and gather more goodies! I haven’t even started playing with my friends yet. Taking one along to just slow crawl through West Virginia is going to be awesome! Getting a group together to take on bigger challenges like the events that pop up? Better yet!

About the only thing I’m missing is being able to descorate my home with junk. Being able to place items around your CAMP and locking them down would make the game perfect to me. Seriously, perfect. Yeah there’s bugs and all but I’m enjoying the experience! So many are calling this a lazy cash grab. I don’t see how making an entire new area that is larger than any before it is lazy. Then adding in the rich urban legends of West Virgina new real world locations to explore.

I don’t get it. There are holo tapes all over the place that give a rich back story. Locations that tell a tale you have to work out by looking them over. How isn’t this interesting?